????日本是一個喜歡小玩意兒的國家，利用科技來創造一種現代感十足的如廁體驗是一件非常自然的事情。這種技術最初是馬桶座圈的初級加熱。之后，日本的衛浴公司便一直在坐便器上增添各種功能，最終在衛洗麗上達到了頂峰。一些特殊型號的坐便器甚至會分析人們的尿液，測量血壓，還能通過內置調制解調器將統計數據發送給用戶的醫生。最新型號甚至可以通過智能手機控制。

????目前，基礎款衛洗麗正在努力將先進科技帶入家庭最后的防線——洗手間。雖然東陶進行了狂轟濫炸式的宣傳，但這家公司在美國的銷量一直不溫不火。史蒂夫?舍爾是舊金山一家生產智能坐便器的初創公司Brondell的總裁，他表示這在目前只是一個小眾市場，僅占美國馬桶總銷量的1%。但情況正在逐漸好轉。他說：“雖然我們有五六年一直銷量平平，但過去四年，Brondell和這一類產品銷量總體上呈現出增長趨勢，我們預計這個趨勢仍將繼續?！?/p>

????《廚房與浴室設計新聞》（Kitchen & Bath Design News）編輯珍妮絲?科斯特認為，最近經濟情況好轉，對于衛洗麗及其同類產品而言是好消息，高端市場或許會開始增長。她說：“科技正在逐漸走進人們的浴室，從可編程的淋浴設備，到支持藍牙的淋浴噴頭，再到高科技坐便器。消費者對于高科技衛浴產品有濃厚的興趣，尤其是具有節水功能和豪華特性（如可加熱的座圈）的產品增長最快?！?/p>

????與此同時，日本的衛浴設備公司仍在繼續爭搶外國品牌——來自東京的驪住（Lixil）近期收購了美標公司（American Standard），通過以41億美元收購德國衛浴設備制造商高儀集團（Grohe Group），成功打入了歐洲市場——而且，它還將加大對高科技坐便器的宣傳。

????東陶認為，美國老百姓與之前的日本人一樣，會逐步選擇新設備。上世紀80年代，這家公司花了10年時間才讓日本人相信他們需要電動坐便器。驪住也看好自己在美國的前景。

????驪住美國總裁保羅?伯格哈特說：“這只是時間問題，越來越多的美國人會體會到使用高科技馬桶所帶來的舒適和潔凈，日本人愛上高科技馬桶已經有50年時間。”

????或許伯格哈特說的對。你可能會回憶起《辛普森一家》（The Simpsons ）中的一個場景：霍默遇到了一個日式坐便器，上面寫道：“歡迎光臨。很榮幸接收您的便便?！币D變美國普通民眾接受這種新的便利，或許要從它的第一次沖洗開始。（財富中文網）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓??

????In this gadget-loving country, it seems only natural to the Japanese that technology should be harnessed to create a truly modern lavatorial experience. It all started with an elementary warming of the toilet seat. Since then, Japanese plumbing companies have been loading whistle-and-bell features onto their toilets over the years, and it has reached its zenith in the washlet. Some special-issue toilets even analyze your urine, take your blood pressure, and send the statistics to your doctor via a built-in modem. The latest models can be controlled via smartphone.

????The basic washlet is now at the heart of a fierce battle to bring advanced technology to the final frontier of the home -- the bathroom. But, despite Toto's bombastics, sales are still modest in the U.S. Steve Scheer, president of Brondell, a San Francisco startup that manufactures smart loos, says it's very much a niche market at present, accounting for only 1% of total toilet sales in the U.S. But things are looking up. "While we had about 5-6 years of very flat sales, the last four years have shown substantial growth for Brondell and the product category overall and we expect this trend to continue," he says.

????Janice Costa, editor of Kitchen & Bath Design News, argues that the recent economic upturn has been good for the washlet and its kin, and that the market may be growing at the very high end. "Technology is increasingly gaining a foothold in the bathroom and we're seeing it in everything from programmable showers with blue-tooth-enabled shower heads to high-tech toilets," she says. "There is more interest in high-tech bath products overall, with the greatest growth in water conservation and luxury features (i.e. heated seats)."

????Meanwhile, Japanese bathroom fixture companies continue to snap up foreign brands -- Tokyo-based Lixil bought out American Standard recently, and is establishing itself in Europe with the purchase of German bathroom-fittings maker Grohe Group for about $4.1 billion -- and promotion of its techno-toilets will be ramped up.

????Toto believes the American public, just like the Japanese before them, will adjust gradually to the new fixtures. It took 10 hard years to convince Japanese they needed electro-commodes in the 1980s. Lixil is bullish about its U.S prospects.

????"It is just a matter of time before more Americans experience the comfort and hygiene associated with using the advanced technology bidet toilets that Japan has grown to love for nearly 50 years," says Paul Burghardt president of Lixil USA.

????Burghardt may be right. One might recall an episode of The Simpsons where Homer encounters a Japanese toilet that announces: "Welcome. I am honored to accept your waste." Converting the nation's great unwashed to this new convenience may be well into its first flush already.